Art exhibition by the girls of Uduvil Girls' College in Colombo

Uduvil Girls' College, are bringing their art exhibits to Colombo to be exhibited at the JDA Perera Art Gallery down 46 Horton Place, Colombo 7, on July 27 and 28.  The paintings are by students from Grade Nine to the G. C. E. Advanced Level classes. Approximately 200 paintings – all creations are by the students. 

The paintings will be on different themes. Your presence at this exhibition will be a source of great encouragement for these children who have undertaken a long journey to bring their paintings to your doorstep.

Uduvil Girls’ College, an unassisted private school located in the north of Sri Lanka, was founded in the year 1824 and is the first Boarding School for Girls established in Asia.

The school was established at a time when education for girls was not favoured by the community. The first pupils of the College were two girls who sought refuge from a rainstorm in a mission bungalow occupied by American missionaries at Uduvil. In opening its doors for education of the girls of Jaffna, Uduvil Girls’ College not only gave girls/women opportunities for education and higher education thereafter, but also paved the way for the emancipation of women.   

Background:  The school has provided continuous quality education to girls from the peninsula and outside. Currently the school has approximately 1300 students and has maintained a commendable standard in academic as well as the co-curricular activities of the school. The children have held two Art Exhibitions in close proximity to their school.

This was by way of celebrating the school’s 190^th anniversary. They now venture out of the peninsula, to showcase their paintings and to raise funds for their much needed block of classrooms. Displaying these paintings in a regular art gallery will be a good opportunity and exposure for the children. The school buildings that are now in existence are a mix of the old and the new.

The old buildings are very much in need of repair and renovation. As such a new building that would give the girls modern well equipped classrooms that would meet the educational needs of the present day student is a necessity.

This new set of classrooms is in the process of being built. The students and staff of the college have gone out of their way to raise funds for this new building. Now the Art Department of the school has ventured out to hold this Art Exhibition in Colombo to raise funds.